Dear ProCon.org readers, we need your help. The average cost for ProCon.org to educate 26 people with nonpartisan research on important issues is $1. The average taxi fare in America is about $10. We are asking everyone who visits ProCon.org to donate the cost of one taxi ride – at least $10 – to this important charity. Without your support, the programs at ProCon.org that serve millions of students, teachers, and others cannot exist. Our charitable work is funded entirely by your donations. Thank you and happy holidays!

Dear ProCon.org readers, we need your help. The average cost for ProCon.org to educate 26 people with nonpartisan research on important issues is $1. The average taxi fare in America is about $10. We are asking everyone who visits ProCon.org to donate the cost of one taxi ride – at least $10 – to this important charity. Without your support, the programs at ProCon.org that serve millions of students, teachers, and others cannot exist. Our charitable work is funded entirely by your donations.

This website exists to give people a real understanding of issues from both sides – not a biased echo chamber version of understanding issues. ProCon.org, a nonprofit public charity, provides – for free and without ads – nonpartisan facts, well researched pros and cons, and a platform for critical thinking on today’s most important issues. Please support this work with your tax-deductible donation in 2016. Time is running out, and the country needs ProCon.org more than ever. Thank you and happy holidays!

What Is a Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR)?

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) wrote in its "Religion and Ethics - Ethical Issues" section on Do-Not-Resuscitate orders, which was last updated on July 20, 2006:

"DNRs are Do Not Resuscitate orders. A DNR order on a patient's file means that a doctor is not required to resuscitate a patient if their heart stops and is designed to prevent unnecessary suffering.

The usual circumstances in which it is appropriate not to resuscitate are:

when it will not restart the heart or breathing

when there is no benefit to the patient

when the benefits are outweighed by the burdens

Although DNRs can be regarded as a form of passive euthanasia, they are not controversial unless they are abused, since they are intended to prevent patients suffering pointlessly from the bad effects that resuscitation can cause: broken ribs, other fractures, ruptured spleen, brain damage."

Focus on the Family explained in an Apr. 14, 2005 article by its Senior Policy Analyst in Bioethics, Carrie Gordon Earll, entitled "Making Medical Decisions for a Loved One: A Caregiver's Guide," that appears in the "Bioethics/Sanctity of Human Life: Quick Facts" section of its website:

"Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order: a patient or a health care agent may request a DNR order. It prevents cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) should the patient stop breathing or suffer a cardiac arrest. Patients who are in compromised conditions may be less likely to recover after CPR. The intense physical nature of CPR can cause broken bones or collapsed lungs, especially among frail or elderly patients. DNR orders can vary in interpretation, so you should define the term with the health care facility before considering one for your loved one."

The Death with Dignity National Center wrote in the "Glossary of Terms" section of its website (accessed Sep. 26, 2006):

"Do Not Recussitate [sic] means that in the event of cardiac arrest, no CPR or electric shock will be performed to re-start the heart... The patient can change a DNR...order at any time, and experts urge that such orders are reviewed regularly. In a DNR...situation, a patient is provided comfort care. Without such an order, emergency medical technicians are legally required to perform CPR."